I hate to be harsh (I've been told off about it just now in an earlier comment too!) but the one thing that stands out most in this series of redesigns is how not a single one of them presents a brand that stands out in any way... it seems like every one is a cookie-cutter of other websites' style. Near the end they even start to look like keyword-spam holding sites.

Have you considered taking a very slight risk and actually creating a striking, unique brand that people will remember after going to your site?

Also, your logo looks like a frowning face... you sure you want that?

Fair criticism, I know used cars, not branding unfortunately (I've always seen a smiling car face in the logo!). If you are experienced with branding feel free to contact me.

I think you should reach out to some dustin-curtis-like character in your area (i.e. a strongly opinionated designer with the talent to match) and get them on board to help you define your brand better... might be worth giving them some shares to incentivise them. If you're seeing plenty of business already even with bad branding, imagine how much you'll get if your brand is more convincing and memorable!

It's shocking how many websites still look like the first screenshot (yet we've seemed to universally do away with the site counters).

Not in Japan, where my clients still insisted on them, on new sites, in 2010. And would then beg me to start it from a decently high number ..

These days many people put a twitter followers counter or a "this many people liked the page on facebook" link up.

Why? Social proof[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_proof]